Christmas Decorations :))

This will be our first Christmas with an active toddler, and we are already beginning to experience the added joys and frustrations!

The fun part is that Andrea is old enough to get really excited about the beginning of the Christmas season--namely, putting up our decorations, and listening to some Christmas music in the process.

Andrea was very interested in the Nativity scene on our dining room table, so I put her up on a chair, and turned it on for her to watch and listen. [The Wise Men and a shepherd walk around, pausing to bow before Baby Jesus; Christmas carols play.] I told Andrea simply that Christmas is when we celebrate Baby Jesus's birthday, and that the Wise Men are stopping by to meet him and say hello. She was mesmerized by the scene. Then, every time one of them would stop in front of the manager, she'd say, "Hello, Baby Jesus!" and when they turned away, "Goodbye, Baby Jesus!" I can't tell you how sweet she sounds when she says "Baby Jesus!" :))

But don't let the headdress and the prayer-position hands fool you.

Adorable? Absolutely. Innocent? Hardly!

As is to be expected, Andrea thinks all of the pretty decorations are "toys!" so she has to get her hands on everything. I tried to relax and let her help me decorate the tree. I carefully chose a wooden ornament (not breakable, right?) for her to hang. What happens? She gets too excited, and drops it. The ornament breaks into two pieces. Sigh. Well, so much for that. She also got mad because Rod was busy helping me string the garland around the tree, and not paying attention to her. Sigh again.

But after her bath, I shut off the household lighting and left on the Christmas lighting. Andrea was in awe. She kept saying, "It's boo-ti-ful!" and "It's won-nerful!" and "I yike da yights!" Her eyes were huge! She wanted to stay up with the pretty lights, but I promised her they would be here for awhile, and she could see them the next day.

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Kevin is interested in all the pretty sights and sounds too. He especially enjoys looking at the coloured lights, when it gets dark. While we were decorating the tree, I gave him some tinsel garland to examine. It kept him amused for about 15 minutes!

I've also managed to work Kevin's baby gear into the Christmas decor. I don't think he minds.

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I had a little Christmas train for a long time, but it broke last year. The new one I bought is bigger in scale than I realized it would be, but now I like it. It actually loops around the tree and the presents. It has lights, a horn, and a few Christmas tunes. It's also really noisy. Therefore, Andrea and Kevin are fascinated by it! :)) Andrea insists on pushing the start button, but Kevin is content to watch it go round and round.

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The final decoration: SNOW! We got our first dusting tonight. It will probably be melted in an hour, but it cheered me up to see some nice, thick flakes fluttering down. Ah, it's time to curl up with a mug of coffee (with a splash of Bailey's) and enjoy a moment of peace.